It is with great pleasure that Benedictine University announces the appointment of Jordan Atkins to the position of head men's and women's cross country coach.

"I'm excited to begin working with the men's and women's cross country teams," Atkins said. "Benedictine has a strong history and tradition that I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to build on. I want to thank Paul Nelson for bringing me on board and the entire Benedictine community for making me feel so welcome. I can't wait to get started."

Atkins comes to Benedictine after serving as the graduate assistant cross country and track coach at Aurora University from 2018-2020. Atkins spent three months as the interim head coach.

"We are pleased to welcome Jordan to Benedictine," said director of athletics Paul Nelson. "He has a wide range of collegiate experience in different parts of the country that will benefit our student-athletes."

The resume for Atkins also includes three other collegiate coaching stops with stints as an assistant at the University of Wisconsin, Tufts University and Lawrence University. A graduate of Lawrence, Atkins has twice qualified for the Boston Marathon.